Gula et Temperantia
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day five hundred and thirty-four:  sins and virtues 2 of 7  In her quest to get the tots returned to McKinley's students, Mercedes finds an ally.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 25th cycle. Now cycle 26!_

**SINS + VIRTUES SET:** _Day 2 of 7: Gula (Gluttony) + Temperantia (Temperance)_

_A/N: Sorry for the delay! Figures, on my first day of summer holiday I'd get delayed like this! Woke up this morning to no electricity and had to sit around like a damn fool until it finally came back before I could get on with things... But now here we are!_

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><p><strong>"Gula et Temperantia"<br>Mercedes & Penny (OC-ish) (& Sue) **

Mercedes felt filled with power after she'd left the cafeteria, after her call to arms for the return of their tots had been met with so much enthusiasm. She had yet to decide on her next move just yet, but she knew there would be a next move. She couldn't just leave it there; she knew it, Principal Sylvester knew it… only a matter of time now.

She was at her locker, checking her reflection in her mirror, when she saw there was someone standing right behind her, right there in the mirror's image. She spun around to find none other than her very first supporter in the cafeteria uprising. "H-hi… uh…"

"Penny," the girl smiled, tapping at her chest like she was identifying herself.

"Right," Mercedes remembered. "You're in my history class."

"And science," Penny confirmed. After the introduction had been taken care of, Mercedes wasn't sure what else to say, having no idea what the girl wanted with her. Her eyes looked almost crazed with some kind of idea, and after a moment she finally told Mercedes just what that idea was, or at least what it was about. "You were awesome back there," she nodded emphatically.

"Thanks…" Mercedes still wasn't sure, but she couldn't help but smile either.

"No, but you were, you just stood up and you took the power!" she punctuated nearly every word a downcast punch in the air, while Mercedes followed the motions with her eyes. "And I want to help."

"Help?"

"To get the tots back!" Penny explained, and now Mercedes understood.

"I don't know if Principal Sylvester would…" she started saying, and Penny shook her head.

"You can't back down now, we have her!"

"We do?" Mercedes pondered, feeling her rush from before slowly returning now.

"Yeah!" Penny declared, as energized as she'd been in the cafeteria. "Now what do we do next?"

"I… I don't know," Mercedes admitted.

"Yeah, you do," Penny encouraged. Mercedes looked at her, saw how she believed in her, like she was some sort of figure for their revolution of tots… it felt nice, she had to say… and it gave her an idea.

"We need to get loads of tots together," she started.

"Liking this already," Penny nodded attentively. She was kind of intense, but Mercedes just fed off that energy. She closed her locker door and led her follower down the hall.

"Tomorrow, lunch time, meet me in the parking lot and bring the tots," she instructed.

"I'll be there," Penny held out her hand like she wanted to high five, so Mercedes obliged. The girls parted ways and they met up again, the next day, at the agreed time and location, each carrying a container of tots. "What do we do now?" she asked, looking giddy like she'd had too much coffee.

"Come on," Mercedes told her, and they went about as discreetly as they could, toward the Principal's parking space. They crouched at the back, and Penny opened her container when she saw Mercedes do the same. 'Chief Jones' picked up one tot, held it for her helper to see, and then shot it up the tailpipe. Penny almost cried out with victory, but Mercedes quickly put a hand to her mouth to shut her up. "Careful, we can't let them catch us."

"Why?" Penny asked, once she was free to speak. "They should all know it was us, so they'll know we're ready to fight!" she somehow managed to pack all her usual energy in a whisper.

"Because if we get in trouble, then other people will get in trouble, too, so the best thing we can do is to make this anonymous." Penny considered this.

"Actually, Figgins did say if I got suspended again then I'd be expelled… Do you think she knows about that? I mean I figured since it's a different principal…"

"Sue Sylvester knows all; I know that much," Mercedes shook her head. After a moment, Penny bowed her head. "So, covert?" Mercedes checked. Penny looked back at her, then picked up one of her tots, shooting it in the tailpipe. Mercedes chuckled; and they were off. They packed the tots in, one by one, to each her turn.

"Why are they even doing this to us?" Penny shook her head firmly as she shot one of the tots in her mouth, rather than the tailpipe.

"You know, I'm all for getting healthy, and I try… But her options are just…"

"The foam?" Penny frowned, and they both felt momentarily ill on reflex, which they cured with one tot each. "How could you ever get rid of these?" Penny breathed out, feeling better, almost swooning.

"I have no idea," Mercedes shot in a couple more in the tailpipe.

"How deep is this thing?" Penny looked in the hole, which made Mercedes chuckle. As she looked back up though, she froze.

"Uh… Penny… I think we need to get out of here." She looked down and found her accomplice going to town on her tub of tots. "Penny!" she screeched/whispered. She looked up, then over her shoulder.

"It's the Principal!" she did the same. They hurried to close their containers, scrambling to leave, but it became clear within an instant that they might not make it. "I can't get expelled," Penny shook her head, looking scared now. Mercedes looked at her, and she made a decision.

"Go, get out of here, I'll take care of it."

"But…" Penny shook her head.

"It's fine, just go," Mercedes insisted.

"You're a legend, Mercedes Jones," Penny hugged her container of tots to herself before ducking out of there. A moment later, Principal Sylvester would find the Glee clubber, red handed, with her tots.

"Or I'm history," she spoke to herself. She just hoped this wouldn't come down too hard on the others.

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**** **


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